British Prime Minister Theresa May was in Kenya in August and while on a State House dinner event, she was pictured wearing a stunning necklace.
It later emerged that the Fractal Cuff and Torque piece was made by a Kenyan jeweller and silversmith Ami Doshi Shah.
Ami is a graduate of the Birmingham School of Art and Design, having pursued a Bachelor of Arts in Jewellery and Silversmithing in 2001.
In the same year, she was a recipient of the Goldsmith’s award for the Best Design as an apprentice trainee.
The jewellery designer, who first did a foundation course in Art and Design in the UK, creates her pieces using locally sourced material such as copper, rope, brass, wood, leather and semi-precious stones.
Upon graduating, she completed a jewellery apprenticeship programme in Mumbai and Jaipur in India for six months.
Her jewellery business I AM I came to be after a 12-year hiatus,during which she worked as a marketing executive with multinational companies in both Nairobi and London.
The Kenyan of Indian origin is heavily influenced by both African and Indian cultures and credits the African and the Indian culture as some of the richest when it comes to adornment.
It is her hard work and passion combined with her modern and whimsical style that has seen her chosen to represent Kenya in the International Fashion Showcase (IFS) that will be held in London in 2019.
The IFS provides a tailored platform for 15 emerging designers from 15 different countries,including a business development programme across eight months and a residency within Somerset House Studios in London.
In addition,it is used as a launching pad for emerging designers to have their pieces exhibited at the London Fashion Week and to date has showcased more than 600 designers from 70 countries.
